TAUNTON — Keeping with the spirit of nonviolence promoted by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a forum was held by the Taunton Violence Prevention Task Force on Monday afternoon, asking participants to discuss how violence affects the local community and to talk about solutions for stopping it.

The Taunton Violence Prevention Task Force, which is associated with the Silver City Teen Center and is a program of the Southeastern Massachusetts Voices Against Violence (SEMA-VAV), held its first "Chasing the Dream! Brainstorming for Peace" on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The event was attended by local youth, area educators, local government leaders, state legislators, school board members and other concerned citizens from the community, using the theme of nonviolence championed by King as a lynchpin for discussions.

"I grew up watching the passion and the courage of Martin Luther King, along with JFK and RFK," said Annemarie Matulis, founder of SEMA-VAV and one of the main organizers of the event. "Being impressed by these great men of peace has nothing to do with them being perfect, it has to do with being human. … This event is meant for inspiring youth to dare and never lose hope that they do matter, and to help make Taunton a powerful positive example of health and wellness."

About 20 guests at the event split up into groups and started a discussion with prompt questions provided by the organizers, including "What do you see as the biggest problem related to violence in any form in your neighborhood, school or community?" and "What non-violence solution could address these problems?"

Debbie Brown, a Taunton High School adjustment counselor, said it was interesting to hear from some of the youth in attendance.

"We talked about how one of the biggest problems is the cultural acceptance of violence," Brown said. "How do we take that broad-based concern and apply it to solutions in Taunton? We have a lot of smart people here under this roof talking about this."

Robert Curley, 20, of Taunton, said it's important to promote the nonviolent approach of dealing with societal problems.

"The nonviolent approach is the best," Curley said. "The nonviolent approach would be to help educate people on the acceptance of people, and not basing it on culture, race or religion. And also helping to raise awareness on how to handle certain situations involving youth crime. Sometimes, sending a juvenile to prison may exacerbate the issue."

Haley Tinglof, 11, of Raynham, was the youngest person at the event. Tinglof said she is concerned with verbal abuse among students at school, preventing bullying and standing up to youth violence.

"Bullying is one of the biggest problems," Tinglof said about bullying, before offering her solution. "We can stand up or tell the teacher or the principal."

Alexander Cruz, 19, Taunton, was seated at a table discussing the effect of culture on street violence and other violent outbursts.

"We talked a lot about street violence," Cruz said. "We talked a lot about how culture, it's become acceptable for so many. With violent movies, TV, video, it's everywhere."

Jonathan Reis, 20, of Taunton was seated at a table discussing gangs in the city and their violent activities.

"We talked about, how we can cut it down," said Reis, adding that he knew people who associated with street gangs in Taunton growing up. "When I went to school, people associate themselves with gangs, who did violent things as a whole or harassed people. We're discussing how we can address that."

Jordan Fiore, a member of the Taunton School Committee, said that he was glad the Taunton Violence Prevention Task Force held the antiviolence event on Martin Luther King Day.

"I'm glad they are having it," Fiore said. "It's a good way to bring Dr. King's message to relevance for the current generation that never knew him personally. I hope to see more of this event in the future."